Jungle rules

the long version

"In Vietnam, there's the way things are supposed to be done - and the way they actually get done. Playing by what are known as "Jungle Rules," the U.S. military tries to keep control of whatever situation arises, often allowing inconvenient facts and regulations to conveniently slip between the cracks. This is the battlefield Captain Terry O'Connor of the JAG Corps is stepping onto - and the battle is about to start, whether he's ready or not." "There's been a murder in Chu Lai. After a long day slogging through the boonies, Private Celestine Anderson returned to base, only to come under fire from a group of racist white marines. That was when he finally snapped, and buried his field ax in the skull of one of his tormentors. And the inexperienced O'Connor has been assigned to defend him, in a trial that seems to begin as an open-and-shut case - but ends up pulling O'Connor into the heart of the Vietnam conflict, where bullets overrule books, and death is the only judge of men. This recounting of a true story of brutality and justice continues Charles Henderson's tradition of bringing readers into the heart of the American experience in Vietnam."--Jacket.